


No Therapy For A Stag

by denixvames



Series: Fanfic Sanders Sides [13]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26891242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denixvames/pseuds/denixvames
Summary: While trying to solve every sides' problem, Dr. Picani finds himself discovering more about each of them. Over the long session, he realizes there are parts of himself that he doesn't even know about. He tries to find the answers through his own therapy but has a hard time searching in a method that he has used countless times for his patients. The sides try to help him by showing him a different view of their world.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Fanfic Sanders Sides [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961851





	1. Rocky Session

In Patton's living room, everyone sat on the couch with Picani on a sofa chair across from them. Deceit, however, remained standing. "Sit down." ,said Picani who pointed at a space near Sleep with the end of his pencil. "I don't need to talk about this to a stranger like you!" ,said Deceit. "I won't deal with childish behavior. I'm here to balance Thomas's mind like many others. I won't fail any more sessions." "Fail? Ha!" Deceit smirked. "So, you don't even have a promising result for anyone?" Picani floated up to his face. He grit his teeth and glared. "I only lost one! And he's still...…." He shook his head. "Whatever! That doesn't matter!" He wrote a note. "Sit! Now!" "Please Deceit. This isn't just for you. This is for everyone and Thomas." ,said Sleep. Deceit glanced at Sleep then Picani who he swore was close to a breakdown. 

"Ok." He sat near his boyfriend. Picani floated to his own seat. "Now, all of you appear fine but the only reason why this incident occurred was because of Deceit. He needs to maintain his dark energy. He left a part of himself in the dark world. Fortunately, while you were all there, he was able to take the rest of himself out of it. It seems that every bit of ourselves is still here. Yet, we have to make sure that none of that will happen ever again." He wrote a name. "Patton, what do you dislike about yourself?" The innocent being wasn't sure what to say. "I-I don't know. I don't think I hate anything." "I didn't say anything about hate. Do you feel as if you-?" "Leave him out of this. The problem isn't with us. We have run through many of our difficulties. Even harsh ones." ,said Logan who crossed his arms. "The matter has been settled. The dark world has been sealed for now. It's not like Thomas can stay happy forever. He will have to go through depressing moments to contain his emotions. To remain human. You, on the other hand, have not confronted your issues."

Picani pinched the body of the pencil. He swallowed. "I am not here to be asked questions nor to be tested. I do not need your criticism." Roman leaned over the chair and gave him a stern look. "Look here Doc! We know what to do when things go crazy. From what you told us, it seems like you lost control when your patient failed." Picani aimed the tip of the pencil at him. Roman's head turned fast. He took a step back. His hand touched his cheek. Blood stained his fingertips. "....I apologize. I didn't mean to hurt you." ,said Picani. He tried to get closer. Virgil pushed him. "Get away from us! You're just making things worst!" "Wait a minute, Virgil! He only wants to help." ,said Sleep. He stood from the couch and took Picani's hand. "We know you didn't mean to hurt Roman. We get that you're trying to make things better but Logan's right. As a team, we can work out Thomas's problems. The thing is, I think you need to work your own problems. They've been ignored for too long." Picani pulled away. "I can't go back to my office. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make him better."

He squeezed his own torso while he looked down. "He's trapped somewhere in his own mind. The worlds that he created. Even if I find him, he won't want to see me after the promise of solutions that I gave him." Patton placed a hand on his shoulder. Picani lifted his head up. "Your job is to guide people to solve their own problems." "You can't always be there for every patient you talk to." ,said Logan. "But you can be there when the time is right." ,said Deceit. "I know how it's like to feel trapped. Whoever he is, we can save him." ,said Virgil who held Roman's hand. "How?" ,said Picani. "Thomas can take himself there. If you talk to him about the situation at hand then he'll agree." ,said Roman. He glanced at his dark prince. Dr. Picani nodded. "Thank you. All of you, thank you." He zoomed forward to the ceiling through to the real world where he was in Thomas's living room. Thomas had barely walked in with Joan following nearby.

Joan dropped their plastic cup of tea from a local café. The vibrant bronze liquid stained the carpet. "Oh...my...god!" They almost fell when Thomas caught them. "Whoa! Ok! Come on, Joan. You're going to be fine." ,said Thomas who brought them to the couch. He soon gave them a glass of water afterwards to which they drank a few sips of. "So, what are you? Another side?" Thomas shook hands with him. "My name is Dr. Picani as you may already know but I am not a part of you. I am a real naturally born duplicate of you with my own life but I have flexibility in certain forms of nature." A brow of his arched. "But I made you..." "Each duplicates have linked minds. You must have seen me in a dream once and created the ideas for your entertainment." "Why do you talk like a professor?" ,asked Thomas. Picani adjusted his glasses. "I'm not a hyper overreactive adult child. I do joke sometimes but in the end, I need to give my patients a serious one hundred percent session."

"Please tell me you at least decorate your office with cartoon related merch." ,said Thomas. Picani smiled. "Of course."


	2. An Emo's Nightmare

Elliot tried to keep their relationship stable. He wished Mitchell had done more work like he did. It always seemed like he was doing nothing. Mitchell would constantly ignore the real issue in the broken parts of their love that should have been fixed. No matter how many times Elliot tried to bring it up, his boyfriend was always yelling at him for it. He kept silent about it for a while until his therapist pointed out how unhealthy it was to do so. He wanted to tell his boyfriend about how this relationship really felt to him and he did. Yet, that conversation led to a swirling vortex of the loudest argument he could ever imagine between himself and Mitchell. His boyfriend was the mostly the one with the higher voice. He was the one that broke up with him. And he left. Elliot knew he should have felt relieved for taking that stressor out of his life. 

Yet, he missed him already. A big part of his heart was taken away. He told himself he could never be stable without him. He had never known life without his boyfriend, his crutch. They had breakups in the past but every time it happened, Mitchell would crawl back later to convince him to suffer again. This wasn't love. He knew that. But he didn't know what love really was. Their most recent breakup was enough for him. He shut off his phone and locked his doors and windows. He turned off all lights and laid under the covers. "I'm a failure. I know that now." A tear rolled down. He was beginning to shake. He held his head. "But I don't know what to do...." He sobbed into his hands. Red branches formed to surround the area of his bed. He closed his eyes. Trapped by the darkness that haunted him.

In his mind palace, he found himself in his own dark world. The only world he had. The dark sides of himself. Only, they didn't look like him. Instead, they were masks that spat out shouts of worthlessness and would sometimes show terrifying faces. He ran until his muscles ached, until he couldn't breathe properly. He collapsed to his knees. "Just kill me already. I've tried and I've tried but.....Maybe this is the end." The masks grew closer. He turned away. Suddenly, they screeched. A blinding light had hit them. Elliot opened his eyes to see his therapist looming above. "Dr. Picani?!" "Hey Elliot." Picani held out his hand. Elliot took it and stood. "How did you get here? Speaking of which, where is here?" "You never knew about your mind palace?" "Mind palace? I didn't even know I could be in my own head like this." ,said Elliot. "Well, you can but not for this reason." "What are you talking about?" "I can sense your emotions here. You broke up with Mitchell, didn't you?"

Elliot rubbed his eyes. "I tried to talk to him but when I told him how I felt, he got mad. He said I was being ridiculous and that I wasn't putting his feelings first before mine. But that's not true!" "Elliot, you-" "No! I am sick and tired of trying all your freaking methods! Nothing ever works! All I wanted was to love him! To be happy with him! And every time I do anything, I just make things worse!" Tears had ran from his eyes. "I always do...." The masks flew to them with new shouts. Picani drew a circle in the air which formed into a dome-like shield to keep them both safe. The masks were visibly burning from the shield. They zoomed back. He looked at Elliot. He rubbed a tear off with his thumb. "I'm sorry if I wasn't there before. I've made some mistakes. Elliot, I want to make up for that. Please wake up and we can talk about anything." Elliot gave him a sudden hug. His arms were wrapped over his shoulders.

"You were the reason why I woke up everyday and kept trying. What am I suppose to believe in anymore?" Picani whispered, "Whatever feels right." Spikes emerged from the ground. Piercing through each mask. They moaned of their pain but howled as the spikes were slowly cracking. Elliot pushed him. "Just go! I can buy some time!" "I came here for you! I won't let anyone hurt you again!" "Dr. Picani, thank you for helping me but I have to do this. For the first time in my life, I'm finally making my own decisions." The spikes were close to breaking. The masks had sent their red dark energy to his body. Elliot dropped to his knees. He clutched his stomach. Picani knelt. "Elliot!" "G-Go.....Please...." Blood dripped from his lips. "You're not dying here!" ,said Picani. He picked him up. The dome shield died down. The spikes became crumbles of themselves.

With Elliot in his arms, he ran far and tried to create a portal in his mind. He struggled with this dark world not having its own image. The darkness was still strong. It had stolen its original form, whatever that may have been, from its person. Picani tripped on a wavy smoky hand. Elliot fell out of his arms. It gripped Picani's foot and pulled him in. The doctor himself reached out. "Elliot!" Elliot struggled to get up. Picani stabbed the pencil into the ground. He held on as the masks threw themselves at him. He grit his teeth. Making sure that he wouldn't give them confidence in the pain that they were giving to him. "Picani!" Elliot ran towards him. A mask expressing fear floated in front of him. Stopping him in his tracks. It began to cry. Suddenly, fearful thoughts swarmed his world. He wondered if he was going to live long enough to find love or to make a better change in his life. He held his head and cried out. More fears crawled up to him.


	3. True Darkness

Virgil, always remaining in Thomas's head, had cried out too. Thomas became alert. He found himself worried. In his head, he could see where Picani was but knew it was far from his home. He had no way of reaching them. "Unless...." Thomas laid on the couch. He closed his eyes. Focusing on where they are. The atmosphere of the living room changed. He opened his eyes. He found himself in Elliot's home. Virgil popped out from the floor. "No! We're not doing this! I can't-" He shoved Thomas against a wall. "How could you bring me here? Bring any of us here? It's not right!" "Virgil!" ,said Roman who grabbed his arms. Logan and the others appeared too. They restrained the dark side. 

Thomas placed his hand on his head. "I'm sorry Virgil but I have to do this. We can all help as long as we work together." "Wha-?" A strange soothing calm overcame Virgil. He felt close to falling asleep. "No! I want to help! Please!" A purple aura surrounded him. He knocked everyone off of him. He transferred the overpowering trance to Thomas who fell back. Roman took his dark prince's hand. Virgil glowed. His appearance had drastically changed. He had on a black leather jacket with matching ripped jeans. His eyelids were black, under his eyes was a red barely visible color for the anxiety he still held while his lips held a shade of dark purple. His shirt was purple. In his hand was a floating broken heart. "Let's find them." His voice sounded booming as if an echo was there. Amazed by the new form of Virgil's Knight side, Roman said, "O-Ok..." The others composed themselves and entered into Thomas's mind.

The man himself had woke up. He placed his hand on Elliot's shoulder. "I won't let it destroy anyone. Not even you." He found himself in a dark world where he found Picani on the ground. Almost seemingly lifeless. Elliot was having a nervous breakdown. The masks surrounded him as darkness swirled around. Virgil's appearance formed into Thomas. Making him look like the dark side himself. He threw the broken heart at the masks. An explosion of purple energy sent them away in many directions. Some of the masks were badly injured, cracked beyond repair but still barely holding on. A few were slightly cracked. Yet, they all floated up and cackled at Thomas. Elliot ran to Picani. He turned him over. "Picani! Please wake up!" Immediately, he began to sob. "I can't do this without you!" The masks formed together to create a four legged but with long hands and four headed creature with the mask on each head as a face. All heads faced different directions. Their form was made from the darkness which some would drip red anytime they moved as if they were a melting candle.

The new creature screeched. They spoke in unison. "Would you like to see ourselves?" One mask ripped itself off of the head. Revealing purely white teeth and bloodshot eyes. The faceless details grew closer till a skull peered out and hung from the darkness. "O-Oh my god!" ,said Thomas. He took a step back but Roman moved his left foot forward then Logan moved his right. Virgil glared while Patton clenched his fists. All were controlling every movement that Thomas made because they had fused within his energy and his very existence. Roman's sword appeared in his hands. The sight of it made the skull sink back into the darkness and the mask placed itself back in place. Shades formed over Thomas's eyes, his tongue was like a snake's, and a tie was around his neck. There were freckles on his cheeks. He stabbed the sword into the ground. The land became a field of fresh dirt with stumps everywhere.

Four Masks, the creature, slammed their hands against the ground. Shaking the very world that they were in. Elliot shook Picani. "We need you! Help us!" Four Masks zoomed to Elliot. Thomas followed their speed and strikes. The front left arm of Four Masks fell off. They screamed at the unbearable pain. Falling over on their backs, their hands curled inward to each other like a dead spider. Thomas knelt by Picani's side. He checked his pulse. "He's going to be ok. He just needs time to wake up." Elliot held Picani close. He said, "We need to get out of here!" "I can take care of Picani but you have to fix your world. You can't let your mind like this." "He told me that too but I don't know how." "Those creepy monsters would have killed you guys. I know you did something." "I-I don't know. I wanted to protect him. There was....something out of me. Something that stopped those things." Elliot turned to the dreadful creature. "But I don't think I can do anything else. I could never help anyone, not even myself."

"You can. Just think about how you want this world to look like. You don't need Mitchell to tell you how to live your life." Elliot glanced at Picani then him. Thomas hugged him. "Dr. Picani told me that he felt guilty for failing you but here he is, trying to make things right. You can do the same for yourself too." Elliot brought Picani closer. A silver aura surrounded him. He leaned his head against his. "You didn't fail me, Doctor. You did your best." Picani opened his eyes to the pure energy and was surprised by the kiss.


	4. Elliot's Metamorphosis

Picani watched him transform. Elliot appeared in a black leather kilt and long jacket of the same material and color. His eyes were red. "Elliot?" He held a small smile. "It's time for me to take charge of my own thoughts." He let him go. He walked forward and spread his arms out. At the palm of his hands, grey energy swarmed the darkness. The fresh dirt had became cement, tree stumps were body mirrors, and the sky was a crystal blue with grey clouds. Four Masks' arm was growing back. They turned themselves and ran toward with an ear piercing scream. Thomas covered his ears but was already too late. He fell over. Picani's notebook expanded to a very large size that created itself into a sphere which kept himself protected from the sounds. 

Elliot pulled out his phone from his pocket. He crushed it in his hand. The data from it had seeped into his body. He aimed his hand at the creature. Swarms of numbers and letters that were his data zoomed to the creature like a tornado. It wrapped itself over them. One sad mask flew off to him. Picani threw a page from his journal which hardened until it was sharp enough. The page pierced the mask in half, making it melt away. Three Masks broke the chain of data with tentacles that sprouted from their body. The tentacles wrapped around Eliot who struggled in their strong hold. Picani stabbed the pencil into one of their tentacles that fell off. Three Masks let go of him. "There's no end to this! Why won't you just leave me alone?!" ,shouted Elliot. The grey aura around him had become red. A giant axe formed in his hands.

Three Masks let out an agonizing scream as he repeatedly chopped them over and over in an emotional rage. Exhausted, he dropped the axe and fell to his knees. Three Masks were in pieces that melted too. Thomas woke up at the peaceful change of the world. He walked over to him. "Are you alright?" "I did it. I can't believe I actually did it." ,said Elliot. As he smiled, there were tears. Picani helped him up and held him close. "You did it, Elliot. You defeated your problems. All on your own." "Are you ready to leave?" ,asked Thomas. Elliot nodded. "Yes." "Then wake up." He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he found himself in bed. Picani and Thomas were near. Elliot got out of bed. He threw himself at Picani. "Thank you so much. If none of you had came, I still would have been trapped in there." "We did help but you also destroyed it. Don't forget that you fixed your world. It is a beautiful place now that needs your love and care. Love yourself, ok? That's the best you can do." "For anyone?" "Partially but that should be for you. Not anyone else deserves your love as much as you do." ,said Thomas. "Guys, I appreciate it but I don't know how I can." "Well, it's not like you're going to immediately. These things take time and practice. You will get there." ,said Picani. Elliot nodded. He looked into his eyes for a moment. He leaned close with his lips parted. Picani took a step back.

Elliot stopped. "I know how you feel but I don't think it's right if we were together. I'm your therapist and you're my patient. Even besides those things, I think you deserve someone better. Someone that you can really care about." "You don't think that I care about you? Of course, I do! Picani, you matter just like anyone else. I care about you as much as I care about my sister. Look, I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable." "No, it's ok. I'm glad you were opened about sharing your feelings with me. And thank you for telling me what you said. The two of us just have to look in the right places for romantic love." "But we love each other? Like friends?" "Of course. And we always will be friends. So Elliot....I love you." Elliot smiled. "I love you too." They hugged. Some sniffling sounds made them turn to Thomas's direction. "Are you ok?" ,said Picani. Thomas nodded as he wiped some tears. "I'm good. That was so heartwarming." Picani smiled. "Come here." He gave him a hug. Elliot went in for one too. Thomas sighed. "Gosh, I don't deserve all this love." "Don't be silly. You do." ,said Elliot.

All of his sides appeared to join in the group hug. "We love you, Thomas Sanders." ,said everyone.


End file.
